1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to forming effective camouflage and more specifically to image processing for forming realistic stratum detritus detail in a camouflage pattern and a camouflage pattern formed thereby.
2. Background Information
A quick history of camouflage will often delves through the military applications of camouflage. It has been noted that in feudal Japan, Ninjas in the 14th century used mostly dark camouflage colors during their operations which normally occurred from dusk till dawn. Other times, when the occasion warrants the ninja was known to don suitable cover clothing to blend with the operating environment. In the west, smaller irregular units of scouts or rangers in the 18th century were the first to adopt unit colors in drab shades of brown and green. An example of such a unit would be the famed British 95th Rifle Regiment, which was created during the Napoleonic War to strengthen the British skirmish line. As the British 95th carried more accurate Baker Rifles, and thus engaged at a longer range, they were equipped with a rifle green jacket, in stark contrast to the line regiments scarlet tunics. The British in India in 1857 were forced by casualties to dye their red tunics to neutral tones, initially a muddy tan called khaki which became standard in the British Indian service in the 1880s. The United States was quick to follow the British, going khaki in the same year. Russia followed, partially, in 1908. The Italian army used “grigio-verde” (grey-green) across the army from 1909. The Germans adopted “feldgrau” (field grey) in 1910.
The French also established a Section de Camouflage (Camouflage Department) in 1915 wherein the camouflage experts were, for the most part, painters, sculptors, theatre-set artists and such. Technological constraints meant that patterned camouflage uniforms were not typically mass manufactured during World War 1. Each patterned uniform of the era was hand-painted, and so restricted to snipers, forward artillery observers, and other exposed individuals. More effort was put into concealing larger pieces of equipment and important structures. Units of “Camoufleurs” who were artists, designers, or architects in civilian life were also largely used by the combatants of World War 1. The British Camouflage Section was established in 1916; the U.S. New York Camouflage Society was established in 1917; the U.S. official Company A, 40th Engineers was set up in 1918; and the U.S. Women's Reserve Camouflage Corps was established 1918 and Italy's Laboratorio di mascheramento, was established in 1917. Germany's Lozenge was possibly the earliest printed camouflage in 1917.
The word camouflage is believed to first enter the English language in 1917. Specialist troops, notably snipers, were often supplied with various items of camouflage, including patterned veils for the head and gun, hand-painted overalls and scrim-covered netting or sacking-an adaptation of the rag camouflage used in Scotland by anti-poaching wardens, gillies, the first ghillie suits.
The first mass-produced military camouflage material was the Italian telo mimetico (“mimetic cloth”) pattern of 1929, used to cover a shelter-half (telo tenda), an idea copied by the Germans in 1931. With mass-production of patterned fabrics possible, such mass produced camouflage patterned fabrics became far more common on individual soldiers in WW II. Initially, patterning was uncommon; a sign of elite units, to the extent that captured camouflage uniforms would be often “recycled” by an enemy. The Red Army issued “amoeba” disruptive-pattern suits to snipers from 1937 and all-white ZMK top-garments the following year, but it was not until hostilities began that more patterns were used. The Germans had experimented before the war, and some army units used “splinter” pattern camouflage. Waffen-SS combat units experimented with various patterns, including Palmenmuster (“palm pattern”), Sumpfmuster (“swamp pattern”), Erbsenmuster (“pea pattern”), and also telo mimetico (“mimetic cloth”) using fabric seized from the Italians in 1943. In the U.S. military, General Macarther, in 1942, demanded 150,000 jungle camouflage uniforms for U.S. troops in the pacific theater and a 1940 design, dubbed “frog-skin”, was chosen and issued as a reversible beach/jungle coverall-soon changed to a two-part jacket and trousers. Turning to the present, camouflage uniforms is a part of virtually all modern militaries.
The transfer of camouflage patterns from battle to civilian uses is not exactly a recent phenomenon. For example, military camouflage was used by the French on their trucks and automobiles (the only military vehicles of the day) and within three weeks of the German invasion of France in 1914, the couturiers of Paris, having observed the French truck pattern designs, had turned those abstract patterns into women's' clothing. Fashion has since become increasingly eager to adopt camouflage, with the fashion world attracted by the striking designs, the “patterned disorder” of camouflage, its symbolism, and its versatility. Fashion designers adopting camouflage into fashion include Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (1975-), Roland Chakal (1970), Stephen Sprouse (using Warhol prints, 1987-1988), and Franco Moschino (1986), but it was not until the 1990s that camouflage became a significant and widespread facet of dress from streetwear to high-fashion labels—especially the use of “faux-camouflage”. Producers using camouflage in the 1990s and beyond include: John Galliano for Christian Dior, Marc Jacobs for Louis Vitton, Comme des Garcons, Chanel, Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce & Gabbana, Issey Miyake, Armani, Yves Saint-Laurent, and others.
Aside from the fashion world, camouflage clothing was adopted by outdoor enthusiast, namely hunters. Following World War II, many hunters popularized the use of military camouflage for use in hunting, with many using World War II vintage patterns. This trend, in part, helped spur the growth of “military surplus” retail stores. The divergence of modern hunting camouflage from military camouflage is often attributed to Jim Crumley who reportedly believed he could be more effective at hunting by wearing camouflage that melded with the woodland habitat he hunted and recognized that U.S. military camouflage patterns were designed to match areas where the United States might engage in combat and thus did not adequately match the woodland hunting areas he frequented. Jim Crumley developed woodland specific hunting camouflage to better match the woodland hunting areas he frequented under the TREBARK® brand in 1980.
Another innovator for modern hunting camouflage, as opposed to military camouflage, was Bill Jordan who, in the mid 1980's, reportedly believed that overlaying realistic images of a leaf pattern on a vertical bark pattern would produce a three-dimensional effect that would blend well with hardwood trees. Bill Jordan is the founder of the modern REALTREE® brand of hunting camouflage designs which are now created using digital cameras and photo-realistic printing.
The story of modern hunting camouflage, as opposed to military camouflage, is not complete without a mention of Toxey Haas, an avid outdoorsman who gained inspiration from the natural twigs, leaves, and dirt in the woods and decided to find someone who could print a fabric resembling these natural elements. In 1986, Toxey Haas established Haas Outdoors, Inc. selling a line of hunter camouflage fabric patterns under the MOSSY OAK® brand and which in 1995, introduced a new technology in hunter camouflage pattern development consisting of adding shadows to increase the depth of the camouflage.
As digital imagery and printing technology increased, many modern hunter camouflage patterns have become more realistic as they strive to achieve more depth, detail, and definition in the images forming the hunter camouflage pattern.
There remains a need for more effective hunter camouflage patterns. In the hunting world, it has been said that a hunting accessory such as a new camouflage pattern that results in the game taking one more step toward the hunter is a significant substantial improvement.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a more effective hunter camouflage patterns that hopefully results in the game taking one more step toward the hunter and to provide image processing for forming realistic stratum detritus detail in camouflage pattern for developing such effective hunter camouflage patterns.